Finding More Than Expected
by DreamWonderer
Summary: Weeks before Kara's birthday her dad tells her that she has a brother. Now she goes to the school that her brother attends. But she's not there to make friends. What will happen when gets close to people she said she didn't want to.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"I think it's about time that I've told you…" his voice trailed off. He came and sat on the couch across from me. His eyes focused on mine. "Told me what?" I asked. "Is it bad?"

He slowly shook his head. "Not necessarily…" He almost looked up at me as if he was going to say something, but didn't.

"If it's not bad… then shouldn't you say it without hesitating?"

He looked up at me again and this time he began to speak. "Well…" He began to tell me how I'm not his only child. How my mom had a fling with him, which she gave birth to a boy and another fling two years later, which she gave birth to me. Also, how my mom didn't want a boy. And how she gave him away.

"I have a brother?" I said softly. My dad had finished minutes ago, but I was unable to speak. "And you're just now telling me?" my voice was beginning to crack. I was on the verge of crying. Tears were beginning to form.

"I didn't think–"

"I was old enough? That I was too young to know that I had a brother?" I said quietly. He stared at me, struggling to find the right words. But the truth is, is that there are no right words. He knows that and I know that. I put my face in the palm of my hands, trying to keep myself from crying.

"I wanted to tell you when you got older. When you got more mature." He sighed as I heard him stand up. I heard him moving around, but I didn't look up. "Here," he said. I lifted my head. He was holding out a manila folder. He jerked his head toward it. "Take it."

I took it from him and began to open it. "What is it?" I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater.

"Just open it." Inside was a bunch of papers. I put my hand inside and took out one. It was a photograph of a boy. He looked about a year or two older than me. Black hair covered his left eye. His right eye was a beautiful green. No emotion showed on his face.

"Who is this?"

"Your brother."


	2. Chapter 1

The narrow hall leads me down to the last door. The noise coming from the room was boisterous and I could even hear people screaming. I reached for the door handle, trying to stay calm. Trying not to let my eagerness get the best of me. Knowing that I might not find what I'm looking for in this room. The door handle felt cold in my hand as I turned it. I gave the door one small push. The door opens just a crack and I push it all the way open. The students suddenly became quiet. Their eyes stared down at me. Even the teacher seemed a little shocked.

"You're the new student right," the teacher asked.

"New student?" a boy shouted, "It's a girl?"

I nodded as my eyes scanned over the class. The class was mostly boys. The teacher – a tall and thin man with brown rimmed glasses – walked up to me. He asked, "You are Kara right?"

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"Good," he nodded. He pushed his glasses up on his face and told me to sit anywhere. Then he walked back to his podium – which was in front of the class, in front of the whiteboard.

I scanned the classroom again looking for an open desk. "Here! Sit here," a girl yelled. She stood up at the back of the class, pointing to an empty seat. A smile spread across her face.

The desk was in the last row of seats, right in the middle. I walked to the desk, she pointed at. Her lips were a glossy pink and her eyes were a beautiful hazel-ish color. For some strange reason I got the feeling that she was hated by most of the school. That she was the girl who picked on most of the girls. Maybe it was because of the smile she gave me. Or maybe it was just my imagination. "Thanks," I said putting my messenger bag on the desk.

"Sure," she replied as she went back to her seat – which was a couple of feet away. Everyone's eyes still gazed upon me even when the teacher stared his lesson.

When class was over I went to my dorm room. Since this is a private school I had to live on campus. My suitcases sat in the middle of my dorm room. A computer was on my roommate's side of the room. This school's dorm rooms have one bathroom and two persons per room. So I had to share a room with another girl. Posters of boy bands covered most of my roommate's side. Her bed was covered with pink and white covers. Shoes were thrown everywhere. I started to unpack my stuff; taking the side of the room that was most vacant. And that was the side that was closest to the door. I didn't have much to unpack. Just clothes, shoes, a clock, covers, and important papers. Nothing special.

I was almost done putting my clothes in my dresser and closet when I heard the door open. I stopped unpacking and awaited to see my roommates face. She stopped when she saw me. A smile spread across her face. "Hey," she said. "They told me that I was going to be having a roommate." She was wearing her school uniform– which was a skirt about knee-high length, a white collared shirt, and black shoes. A messenger bag was slung across her shoulder. She flung her bag to the ground, at the foot of her bed. Then she stood at her dresser. "Now I won't be lonely anymore." A lock of her chestnut colored hair fell over her left eye. A frown then appeared on her face. "Unless you don't want me talking to you. I guess that's fine too," she said moving the hair out of her face.

I shook my head. "Uh… I don't mind you talking…"

She nodded. "Okay it's settled then. You and I shall become good friends…"

"Yeah," I said softly. She took some clothes from her dresser and headed in to the bathroom and I started unpacking the rest of my clothes.

"Just so you know I don't have many friends…" my roommate said as she came out of the bathroom. I had already finished unpacking and was lying on my bed reading a book. "Actually, I don't have any friends in this school," she continued. She threw her clothes in a hamper and sat at her computer. She now wore jeans and a T-shirt. "So…"

"Why?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess people think I'm weird. "She turned to her computer and started typing.

"Why?" I asked again. She shrugged.

I stared at the back of her head for awhile until I found something to talk about. "Who was that girl who found me a seat?"

"What…?" She stopped typing and turned to me.

"That girl who found me a seat. She yelled. She had blonde hair–"

"Oh. She's Katelyn. She's the most popular girl in this school. The richest girl too…" her voice trailed off. Her eyes started to avoid mine.

"Do you not like her?" I asked.

"What?" Her head jerked up and her eyes caught mine, but then they quickly looked away. "N-n-not really," she stuttered. "It's just that…" She sighed as a lock of hair fell in her face.

"You don't have to tell me, you know," I said, picking my book up. Without a word she turned back to her computer and I began to read again.

Second Day

"Hey, why don't you sit with us today," Katelyn said. The lunch bell had already rung and most of the students had left the classroom. Katelyn was standing in front of my desk. Four other girls were standing behind her. "Yesterday you sat in here didn't you?" I nodded.

"Kara, do you want to sit with me today?" my roommate asked. It was funny how I still didn't know her name. She stood on the side of my desk with a big smile on her face.

"I'll give you a tour of this place too," Katelyn said, with a grin on her face.

"That's okay I'll sit in here," I told her. Something wasn't right about her. And I didn't want to get involve with someone I felt unsure about.

"How do you expect to make any friends if you sit in here, everyday?" Katelyn asked. A grin showed on her face, but from the tone she was using, I knew she wasn't happy. And my roommates grin faded. My eyes scanned the classroom's floor, trying to avoid Katelyn's eyes. I wasn't going to answer. I wasn't going to tell her that I wasn't here to make friends. That I was only here for one thing and one thing only.

"Okay, I'll sit with you then," my roommate said, pulling a chair up to my desk.

Katelyn still had a grin on her face as she left the room, and my roommates smile came back. She sat down and said, "Why are you staying in here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe because it's quiet in here," I replied.

"Oh," she nodded.

A few minutes of silence passed before I spoke, "Who were those girls with Katelyn?"

"Huh," her head jerked up.

"Those girls. With Katelyn. Who were they?"

"Oh…uh…just her followers."

"Oh." For the rest of the lunch period we sat in silence. I still didn't ask her what her name was. We both just stared into space together. Besides, there was nothing else I was willing to do.

I didn't want to talk.

Move.

Or make friends.

That was the last thing on my mind.

Making friends.

Third Day

"Yeah, soccer time!" most of the boys yelled. They ran on to the field, yelling and chanting.

"C'mon," my roommate said pulling me toward the field. I groaned, resisting pulling away. It was ten minutes in to the game and I haven't even touched the ball, nor did I want to. My roommate and I happily stood as far away from the people playing as possible. And so did Katelyn and her followers.

"Hey, I just now noticed that you don't even know my name. It's Emma by the way."

I nodded. "Good to know."

"Yeah…" she smiled. "So I think…" She started talking to me, but I wasn't paying attention. I watched her lips as she talked–

"Watch out!" somebody yelled. I turned to look at what was happening and suddenly I felt a sharp pain coming from my head. Then everything went black as I fell to the ground.

"Oww…" I moaned, clutching my head. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a bed. I sat up, still clutching my head.

"You should lie back down," a voice said. I turned toward the direction of the voice. A student was sitting in a chair, holding a magazine, flipping through the pages as if it wasn't interesting. He still had his P.E uniform on.

"Where am I?" I asked, still sitting up.

"The nurse's office," he replied, putting the magazine down. He got up and started walking toward me. "You got hit pretty hard. You should lie down," he sighed.

I closed my eyes and put my head in the palms in my hands. The throbbing coming from my head was too much.

"Here," he commanded. I lifted my head. He was holding a glass of water in one hand and an aspirin in a little bag in the other. I popped the aspirin into my mouth and drunk some water. I drunk more than half the glass of water, then I gave it back to him. He sat it down on a nearby table.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Tsk. Is that the thanks I get for carrying you here?" he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Huh? I didn't mean it like that," I sighed. "But why are you still here? Why didn't you go back to class?" I said, clutching my head again.

"I wanted to see if you were okay… And I didn't want to go back to class…"

I nodded. _Of course._

"But class is over now…"

"And you still stayed?" He shrugged, not saying a word.

I wonder why Emma didn't stay. Did she have somewhere to go?

"Oh, uh… Emma brought your clothes," he said, pointing to a pile of clothes. They sat on a chair in a corner.

"Emma?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Why did she leave?"

He shrugged. "That's what I asked her. She said that she had somewhere important to go." I got off the bed and struggled to stand up. His hands grabbed my arm and around my waist. My head fell into his chest as he tried to steady me. I felt his heart quicken. "What are you doing? I told you to lie down."

"I wanna go to my dorm room."

"Your dorm room?" he asked, sitting me down on the bed. "You need to lie down."

"I can lie down in my room too."

He sighed, and then said, "Fine." He jerked his head toward the pile of clothes. "Change into your regular clothes and then I'll carry you back to your room." He threw me my clothes and began to walk out.

_Carry?_

_He'll carry me? _

"Wait I…" I started, but it was too late. He had already left the room. I changed into my clothes and walked out the room. By that time, my head had stopped hurting because of the aspirin and I was able to focus more. The guy that carried me was leaning against the wall, when I came out. He had changed out of his P.E uniform. "You don't have to carry me there," I told him.

"Fine with me, you're kinda heavy anyway," he grinned.

"What?" _Heavy? I'm not heavy._

"I'll just walk you there. Don't want you falling out again," he joked.

I stared at him for awhile, and then he spoke. "Lead the way." I began to walk to my dorm. He trailed behind me, humming quietly. A few minutes later he spoke again. "You're Kara, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Jason," he told me. Then he chuckled. "I'm the one that hit you with the ball." We were now in front of my room's door, facing each other. My hand was sitting on the doorknob. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to do it on purpose," he said moving a lock of his black hair from his face. He didn't smile or laugh. I could tell that he really meant it.

"It's okay," I said, not making eye contact. I could feel his eyes watching me though.

"So you walked me here…"

"Yeah, but you need to be in your room safely, so if you collapsed again I wouldn't be blamed for it," he smiled.

"Fine, I'll–"

"So you're with the new girl, huh?" a voice said.

Jason and I stared at each other. I didn't say it and he didn't say it. It sounded like it come from inside the room. It sounded like a guy's voice.

"Yeah," a girl replied. It sounded like my roommate, Emma. I turned the doorknob slowly, making sure that they wouldn't notice.

"What are you doing?" Jason whispered.

"Going in," I replied.

"But they're having a conversation–"

"You know Mom and Dad want to see you, right?" the guy's voice interrupted.

"Yeah."

I hesitated before pushing the door open. _Should I go in? I mean this is my room too… I need to lie down. I need to rest._

I pushed open the door and walked in. Emma was sitting at her computer and a boy that seemed about my age, stood behind her. She turned to look at me, and then said, "Oh Kara, are you okay." She ran up to me and held my cheeks in her hands.

"Uh… she's okay. She just needs to rest," I heard Jason say. He must have followed me in.

"I can't believe you did that Jason," Emma said, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward my bed. "Well you should lie down." She let go of my arm and I sat down

"Oh…hey, what are you doing here, Aaron?"

"Uh…" The guy hesitated. He and Emma shared a quick glance at each other.

"Jason, please don't tell anybody…" Emma started. She looked Jason right in his eyes. Emma took a deep breath, and then said, "Aaron's my brother."

"What, he is?"

Emma nodded. "If anyone knew they would…"

All voices and noises were blocked out of my head as I studied Aaron. Something about him seemed familiar.

His black hair covering his left eye.

His green eyes.

His unemotional face.

The memory of when my dad gave me the photograph of the boy came into mind.

"_Your brother," my father's voice echoed._

_My brother?_


	3. Chapter 2

"_Why are you giving me this?" I asked._

_My dad shrugged. He sat beside me and said, "I asked some people to get some information on him, so I could see how he was doing and find out his whereabouts". _

_I pulled out another piece of paper from the manila folder. At the top, it said 'Vanmond High.' _"_Vanmond High?"_

"_Yes, that is the school he attends."_

"_What is his name?" I asked._

"_Aaron," my dad replied. "His name is Aaron."_

"_Aaron," I repeated. I stared at the school's name for awhile, and then said. "What do you want me to do with this?"_

"_What do you want to do with it? I only gave you information on him."_

"_Don't you want to see him? Talk to him?" Tears were beginning to fall from my eyes. _"_Do you want him to know that you're his sister? His biological sister?"_

_I nodded, wiping the tears with my sweater. "I wanna find him. I want to see what he's like. My brother," I sniffled._

"_That's why you're leaving tomorrow. And all your bags are packed," he smiled._

"_What? Leaving? What are you talking about?"_

"_I enrolled you in Vanmond High, so you could find your brother."_

_A smile broke across my face. "Thank you, Dad." I wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug _

_I felt his arms around me. "Too tight," he gasped._

"_Oh, sorry," I said backing away._

_We looked into each other's eyes and he said, "Tell him that his biological father would like to see him, okay."_

_I nodded "Okay." _

_I will find my brother. _

Fourth Day

The sunlight blinded me as I opened my eyelids. I squinted and covered my eyes with my hand. It was lunch time and I must have fallen asleep on the bench outside.

"You talk a lot in your sleep," a voice said from behind.

"Huh?" I quickly sat up and turned around. Aaron was standing there with a huge grin on his face. "R-r-really?"

He nodded.

"What did I say?"

"You kept saying 'Vanmond, Vanmond,'" he teased.

My eyes avoided his as I felt heat rushing to my cheeks. Then I suddenly noticed Emma was gone. She was here when I fell asleep. "Where's Emma?" I asked.

"Restroom," he quickly replied.

I nodded, but I knew that he was lying. He replied so fast; it was as if he rehearsed it. But that didn't matter. I wanted to be alone with my brother, anyway. I wanted to get to know him.

"So, why are you here?" I asked.

"Emma wanted me to tell you where she went when you woke up. She also didn't want people bothering you as you slept."

"So she asked you to watch over me?"

"Yeah," he nodded. Then he suddenly averted his eyes. "While you were asleep…" he started.

"Yeah…" The wind rustled the colored leaves on the trees. And the smell of lavender filled the air. Lavender flowers surrounded each tree in the school's meadow.

He looked at me, and then quickly looked away. "You said something else." He turned his head away now, but I could still see his cheeks getting red.

"What?" I said, getting off the bench.

He sighed. Then he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but didn't.

_Why?_

_Why is he hesitating? _

Then he finally said, "You said–"

RRRIIIIIIIIINNGGG! the bell rung.

"Well we should get to class," he quickly said, getting a head start for the building.

_Wait! _Iwanted to yell.

_What did I say?_

It was bothering me all class. In class I stared at the back of Aaron's head, tapping my pencil, nervously, against my desk. Aaron never looked back. Not even once. He just stared down at the paper on his desk. It looked like he was drawing something. I wasn't even paying attention to the teacher until he said, "Class is over." Aaron quickly threw his stuff in his backpack and ran out the room. _Probably to avoid me._

I stood up and began walking out the class, to my dorm room. I wasn't going to follow him. I didn't even see which way he went. "Hey Kara, wait up," I heard someone say. I turned around and saw Emma running towards me. When she caught up to me, we started walking together.

"Uh…In class…" she started. We were at our room now. She opened the door and when we were both inside, she quickly shut and locked the door. I threw my bag on my bed and got some clothes from my dresser.

"Kara…" Emma grabbed my arm and yanked me around, so that we were facing each other. "Why were you staring at Aaron?" Her eyebrows were arched, and her face became serious.

"Huh–"

"In class I saw you staring at Aaron. All class period. Why?" She still was holding my arm, squeezing it tighter.

"W-w-were you watching me?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Trying to make her let go of my arm. It was like she became somebody else. _So Aggressive. Just because I was staring at Aaron. Maybe she thought something happened when she was in the restroom. _

"That's not the point–"

"Then what is the point? I don't get involved with what you do. I don't ask you questions," I snapped.

She came closer to me. Her face was inches from mine. "He's my brother. You know that. And I barely know you."

"That's right!" I snatched my arm away from her. "You don't. So I don't think I need to answer that question." I took my clothes and darted into the bathroom.

_That was close. _My heart was beating rapidly. _Now she's probably going to tell Aaron that I was looking at him. Then he'll come to a conclusion that I like him. _

_Unless…._

_Argh!_

_She's his sister. I can't treat his sister like that, if I want to be close to him. If I want to soon tell him that I'm his real sister._

I quickly changed out of my school uniform. When I walked out the bathroom, Emma wasn't there. She was nowhere in our room.

_Shit!_

_Where did she go?_

Later, I found out that Emma left hand marks on my arm. I was reading my book when I found out. I just so happened to look down at my arm and dark marks covered the middle of my arm. Emma's grip _was_ tight. And she hasn't come back yet? A knock suddenly came from outside my door.

"Come in," I said. I heard the door open, and then close. I heard footsteps move along the carpet as I waited to see who came in. Aaron stopped in front of my bed. I put my book down and jumped off my bed. Aaron's eyes just stared into mine.

"Sorry," He said, breaking the silence.

"What?" I asked, confused. _Why is he sorry? _

"I'm sorry for what Emma did. She shouldn't have–"

"I should've told her…" I quietly said, averting my eyes to the floor.

"It's not your fault… And I didn't tell her, either…" he said.

"Huh?"

A smile spread across his face. "She's overprotective. Besides, she didn't need to know what we had talked about."

"Which reminds me…?" I started. I looked Aaron in his eyes and said. "What did I say in my sleep?"

His smile faded and his eyes avoided mine. "Did she do this to you?" he asked, while lifting up my arm.

_He changed the subject._

My arm was inches away from his face as he examined it. He lightly touched the dark handprint on my arm. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"No."

"She's gone too far…" his voice trailed off. I could see his jaw tightening. His soft green eyes suddenly becoming furious.

I gently snatched away my arm from him. "What did I say?"

"What?"

"In my sleep, what did I say and don't change the subject this time." I couldn't help but smile. Aaron's face seemed so lost. So confused. I had to contain myself from laughing.

He sighed. "I don't think this is the right time to tell you." His hand gently grabbed my shoulder. "Trust me."He gave my shoulder a little squeeze before walking out.

I stood there shocked. My smile had faded.

_He didn't tell me. _

_When is it going to be the right time? _

_Will he ever tell me…? _

Fifth Day/Saturday

Emma came back yesterday night. She hasn't talked to me yet. And she left this morning. She's probably avoiding me. And she's probably mad. Her brother most likely had a long talk with her after seeing the bruise she left on my arm.

I was standing outside my room, locking the door, when I started to hear music echoing through the halls. A beautiful melody. I turned right and followed the music along the halls. It started to get louder and louder as I came closer. I had reached the end of the hall. There was another hall to my left, but it was short. There was a doorway along the right side of the hall. Long windows covered most of the right side of the hall too. The windows were along the upper half of the wall. I walked to the doorway. A guy stood in the middle of the room. His back was faced to me. A well-kept, black piano sat next to him and a violin case lied on it. A violin was placed along a wall to his right. And a guitar sat along a wall parallel to the violin. Flowers sat on the windowsill. My feet began to move toward the guy, careful not to make a lot of noise. They stopped right in front of him. His eyes were closed as he played his black violin. His slender fingers moved gracefully along the violin. His name was Jason.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"H-h-how did you know?"

He then stopped playing and opened his eyes. "I felt your presence," he smiled.

"My presence?"

He laid his violin in the case, which sat on the piano. Then he carefully closed and locked it. "So…" He looked right in my eyes. His tender blue eyes seemed gentle.

"Uh…" I turned away. I didn't want him to see me blushing. "You play good. Did you write that?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Um… I–" My stomach started to growl.

Jason's grin became bigger. And I could feel my cheeks getting hotter.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Uh…no–" My stomach grumbled again.

"Looks like your stomach disagrees with you."

I didn't reply. I didn't even know what to say.

"You didn't eat lunch, did you?"

I slowly shook my head. "I was about to…" I said softly.

"Do you want to get something to eat?"

"Uh…" _What? What should I say? I didn't come here to get attached to people–_

"C'mon," he said, grabbing my arm. Then he started pulling me.

I resisted the to pull away and followed him.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. He dragged me to a nearby café. And we walked the whole way.

"Because you need to eat," he replied. He even ordered for me.

"Why do you care?"

"Because I'd probably have to carry you to the nurse's office again." He took a sip from his glass of water and glanced out the window. "Your roommate came barging into my room yesterday…and today."

"Huh?" _She came in his room? _"Why?"

"She had to talk to Aaron–"

"You're roommates with Aaron?" I interrupted.

He nodded. Then he chuckled. "She didn't look too happy…She was talking to Aaron about you…Unfortunately, they forced me out before I could hear a lot. But then I came back later on and I happened to get some information out of Emma. Aaron wasn't there, of course."

I sighed. _What did she say to him?_

"Emma can be _real_ crazy sometimes…Especially when it comes to her brother. But you shouldn't take it personal, okay?"

I nodded. I wonder if she told him about her grabbing my arm. Luckily, I wore a long sleeved shirt that covered the bruises.

"So with that said we should enjoy our last dinner before we hit the road." He took another sip of water.

"The road? What? We haven't even eaten yet."

"Huh…Uh…Tomorrow…We're going on a field trip…For a couple of days…"

_Field trip? _"Nobody told that."

We both stared at each other, both of us confused. Then he nodded. "That's right you're new…I forgot."

_How could nobody tell me this?_

_Aaron?_

_Emma?_

_Did they all think I knew?_

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he grinned. "Just make sure you pack a bathing suit."

"Huh?"

_A bathing suit?_


	4. Chapter 3

Turns out, we were going to the beach. And it was less like a field trip and more like a privilege. The principal decided to reward the classes because of their high test scores. And the only reason I was able to come was that my test scores from my last school were high, so…

We rode in high-class buses to the beach. I sat with Jason. We didn't talk a lot. Emma sat closer to the front of the bus. Nobody sat next to her. And she was still not talking to me. Aaron sat closer to the end of the bus. Nobody sat next to him either. Jason and I picked seats that were in the middle of the bus.

At one point of the bus ride, Jason fell asleep. His head just so happened to fall on my shoulder. His black hair brushed against my neck. Sometimes it tickled. And I felt his breath on my neck. I blushed for the first couple of minutes.

When we got to the beach our teacher, Mr. Taylor, told us to find the room we were going to be staying in and get settled. So that's exactly what we did. Boys and girl got separated, of course. I was the first one in my room when I found it. There were two beds in it, one by the window and one closer to the door. I chose the bed closest to the window and got settled in. A stand was against the wall, in front of the room with a TV on top of it. There was also a bathroom.

The door suddenly burst open. "Okay, so who is my roommate?" I heard a girly voice say.

I turned around and saw Katelyn come barging in with two pink suitcases. Nobody was following her this time. "Hey Kara," she said with a grin. "So you're my roommate, huh?"

I forced a smile on my face and said, "Yeah…"

She rolled her suitcases up to the bed that was vacant. "I usually take the bed by the window, but I guess I could let it slide this time. I mean, we're friends, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said to myself.

Once Katelyn got settled in, she started telling me how she was happy to be here. About how she got one of the highest scores. Pretty much bragging about herself. I tried zoning her out. I even tried reading…but I didn't want to seem mean. I mean… we're going to have to be roommates for a few days…And I didn't want Katelyn – the most powerful girl in school – mad at me. She could probably get me expelled and then I'd never tell Aaron the truth. She could make my life in this school _Hell._ So I definitely didn't want to get on her bad side.

Seventh Day

"Hey Kara, do you want to go to the beach with us?" Katelyn asked. She was already in her red two-piece bathing suit – which was made in France. She told me that yesterday. She also wore big Chanel sunglasses.

"Uh…sure," I nodded. I wasn't doing anything important anyway, so…

After I put on my blue two-piece bathing suit and wrapped a towel around my waist, Katelyn, her friends, and I went to the beach. Katelyn's friends set towels on the sand and put two beach umbrellas in the sand for shade. When they were done, Katelyn sat down on one of the towels. Before I sat down, I heard someone yell my name. I turned toward the direction of the voice. Emma was running toward me, waving at me as if she was glad to see me.

"Hi," she said between breaths. She wore a one-piece, light green bathing suit.

"Hi…" I said, cautiously. _Why was she here?_

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she said once she caught her breath.

I nodded. "Sure." I wonder what she wants to talk to me about.

"I'm sorry," Emma said when Katelyn was out of earshot. "I acted really foolish. I should've never grabbed you like that…" She suddenly stopped in front of me. She reached for my arm, but then hesitated. "Are the bruises still there…?"

_Shit! I completely forgot about the bruises. _

I wonder if Katelyn saw them…

_Nah. She would've said something._

"Uh…" I lifted my arm. The dark bruises had become a little faded. I turned my arm around so Emma could see them. "You can hardly see them," I tried comforting her.

She stared at the bruises she made on my arm. "This is horrible…" her voice trailed off. Then she took her eyes off my arm and looked me in the eyes. "I'm so sorry. I…I…" Tears started to fall from her eyes.

"It's okay…" I grabbed her arms and gently pulled her in for a hug. She cried on my shoulder as a rubbed her back.

After me and Emma talked I walked back to where Katelyn was. "What did Emma want to talk to you about?" Katelyn asked once I got back. Emma walked pass Katelyn and went to the far end of the beach that was closer to the hotel we were staying in.

"Uh…nothing much…," I replied. The tone of her voice didn't seem right to me. And that made me not want to tell her. She sounded too curious. And I know she tried to hide her curiosity, but she did a poor job of it. She sighed and lied down on her blanket.

"Oh look! It's Jason!" one of Katelyn's friends giggled.

Katelyn quickly sat up and I followed their gaze. Jason was walking toward us and he was grinning, wildly. His red, checkered swimming trunks were wet. Water was dripping from his hair. The sun glimmered off of his wet body as water dripped off of his six-pack.

_What a nice body._ I couldn't help but stare. It seemed as if my eyes were glued to his torso.

"He's so hot," Katelyn said, quietly. She probably didn't mean to say it aloud.

"Yeah…" Katelyn's friends agreed.

"Hey," Jason said as he gave me a little wave, ignoring Katelyn and her friends.

"Hey–"

"Heeeeyyy," Katelyn's friends said in unison, interrupting me.

"Hi, Jason," Katelyn, sexily said. But Jason ignored them and sat down on my towel beside me.

"You went in the water, huh…" I said, tearing my eyes off of his body.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Are you going in the water?"

I shook my head. "No."

"What? You're not going in the water?" he smiled. "Then why did you come out here?"

"Maybe to get some air," I lied. "Maybe to get a tan…"

Jason looked up at the umbrellas we were under. "You're getting a tan without the sun…?" he asked.

"Maybe…" I said quietly.

He nodded. "I see…" Then he stood up. He grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me up. He started to drag me towards the water.

"Wh-what are you doing?" I started to pull away but he kept his grip. I heard him chuckle as he pulled me in the water with him. "Jason. No," I said, hoping my words would stop him.

"C'mon," he said. "Have some fun." The water was now up to our belly buttons. Waves came crashing into our stomachs. The sand felt soft under our feet.

"Wooo," I said sarcastically, raising my hands in the air. "This is soooo fun." I was trying not to smile, but I was unsuccessful. Jason started to splash water in my face. Then he began to chuckle. I splashed water in his face too. Then I attempted to push him into the water. He stumbled a little. Then he grabbed my hand as he fell. We both fell into the water. When we surfaced, Jason was laughing really hard.

"That's not funny," I said, failing to stop giggling.

"Then why are you laughing?"

I started to walk toward the beach and Jason followed me. "I didn't want to get wet," I said, half serious.

He was still smiling when he said, "Sorry." It was obvious that he didn't mean it.

"I'm going to the room," I said, once I got to where Katelyn was. She was sitting up. It looked like she was watching over the beach.

_Or watching me and Jason…_

"Why?" She took her glasses off and stared at me as I gathered my things – sunscreen, a towel, and sunglasses. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied. "I just want to go back." She nodded as I started to go back to my room. Jason followed.

"Why are you following me?" I asked him, when we got to my room.

"I'm not following you," he replied.

I smiled as I threw my stuff on my bed. Then I closed the curtains.

"So who's your roommate?" he asked.

"Katelyn," I said as I started to get some clothes out of my suitcase.

"Plan on doing work?"

"Huh?" I looked up at him and saw that he was pointing to my suitcase. I turned back to my suitcase and noticed that he was pointing to the papers that I had hidden poorly.

"Uh…" I quickly closed my suitcase and showed him a fake smile. "No…it's just papers…that I forgot to…" my voice trailed off. "I'mma go change…And take a shower." I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I got done I changed into my regular clothes. Jason wasn't in my room when I walked out. I wrapped a towel around my bathing suit, because it was a little wet, and stuck it in my suitcase.

A knock came from my door and I went to go open it. Jason was standing outside my door. "Why did you come back?" I asked.

"Just c'mon," he grinned as he grabbed my wrist and started walking down the hall. The door slammed shut behind me.

"Ugh, why does everybody keep grabbing my arm?"

He slowed his pace and said, "First of all, I'm grabbing you by your wrist. And second, who's everybody?"

"You and Emma," I sighed.

"Hmmmmm, that's not everybody, now is it?" He started to move his hand down to mine and held it.

I felt heat rushed to my cheeks. "What are you doing? I barely know you." I said snatching my hand away.

He just laughed and kept walking. "I would expect you to say the first thing, but…" He chuckled again. "Not the second thing. Maybe I should get to know you better. Your hands are really soft," he grinned.

Jason took me to an ice cream stand. We ate our ice cream as we window stopped. It was fun. We laughed and played around. And Jason kept making jokes. The stores were beautiful too. The weather was nice too. Nice and Hot. Really Hot.

"Why did you take me here? Why not your roommate?" I asked, licking my ice cream. We were now walking along the strip of the mall.

Jason shrugged. "I asked my roommate, but he didn't want to come. He prefers to read."

"But why me? Why did you drag me along?"

"Because…" He took a bite out of his cone. I had one scoop left to eat and he was already eating his cone. "Most of the girls at our school are snobs…I was just wondering if you were the same…" He took another bite out of his cone.

"So, What do you think of me?" I asked.

"Hmmmm…Right now I don't see you as being a snob…" He took another bite. "But then again, I haven't known you for a long time.

My eyes roamed his tanned face. Above his lips was an ice cream mustache. I giggled as I reached into my pants pocket.

"What?" he said, turning to me, "Did you see something funny?"

"Kinda," I giggled. I took a napkin out of my pocket and wiped off his ice cream mustache.

"Oh…" he said when I got finished. His cheeks started to get red as he turned away. I stopped myself from laughing out loud.

"You're so sloppy," I teased.

"No I'm not. I just…just…" He turned around to face me. "I just…wasn't paying attention. That's all…"

I giggled as we kept walking. We window shopped and joked around all day. It was the most fun I had all day.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jason said, pointing to a nearby restaurant. The stars twinkled in the night sky as we walked along the path. The sounds in the dark filled the air. Bright lights from stores and restaurants lit up the sky.

"Uh…sure," I replied. My stomach had been grumbling for a while now. We walked into the restaurant and waited in line. The line was all the way to the door. And the people started to look and stare at us.

_Why?_

"Hello, Mr.–"one of the hosts started to say.

"Uh, hi…"Jason said quickly, interrupting the host.

"Shall I seat you Mr.–"

"Yeah," Jason interrupted again. What about the rest of the people, I thought. There were a lot of people in front of us to be seated, but the waiter came straight to us.

_Why?_

Jason and I followed the host. He led us to one of the restaurant's private rooms. The ones that were for V.. "Uh…thanks," Jason said after the host led us to a booth. I sat down while Jason whispered something to the host. The host nodded and walked away. Then Jason sat on the opposite side of me.

"What did you say to him?" I asked, kind of curious.

He shrugged. "Nothing. Nothing important…"

_If it wasn't important, he wouldn't have whispered it._

I wonder what he said…

Suddenly, a door opened and a waitress came in. Her dirty blonde hair swayed side to side as she walked. She held a pad in one hand and a pen in the other. She stopped at our booth and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. My name is Sarah and I'll be your waitress today." She smiled at Jason, showing all her white teeth. She handed Jason a menu then me. "What will you like to drink?"

Jason then looked at me. I guess he wanted me to go first.

"I'll take water," I told Sarah.

She smiled at me then turned her attention to Jason. "And you? What would you like?"

"Water too."

Sarah nodded as she wrote something down in her pad. "And do you need a couple of minutes to think about what you want or…"

"Do you want me to order for you? I know all the good stuff," Jason said to me.

"Sure," I replied.

Jason told the waitress all the food he wanted. When he was done, he handed her his menu, and I did the same.

"Do you come here a lot?" I asked when Sarah left the room.

"Kinda…"

_Kinda? _

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I used to come here sometimes."

The waitress came back a few minutes later with our water. "Your food will be out shortly," she said after setting our drinks on the table. Then she walked out. When our food came, we ate, Jason paid, and then we walked back to our dorms.

The automatic doors of the hotel opened as we walked toward it. Cool air hit our faces as we walked into the lobby.

"Jason!" a person at the front desk yelled. Jason and I turned in the direction of the voice. A man was holding a phone out to us. "I mean Mr.–"

"Uh, yeah?" Jason said really loud, interrupting the guy.

Every time somebody tried to say Jason's name he interrupted them…I wonder why…

"Your father called. He wants to speak to you."

Jason nodded. "Okay." Then he turned to me. "Looks like I can't walk you to your room…Sorry," he said before turning and walking toward the guy behind the desk.

I watched him as he took the phone from the guy and started talking into the phone. Then I started to walk to my room. The halls were quiet as I walked through them. I stopped in front of my door and searched my pocket for my key. My pockets felt empty though. I kept moving my hands inside my pocket, trying to find my key.

_Shit!_

_It's not here…_

_I must've left it in my room._

I took my hands out of my pocket and started to knock on the door. But Katelyn didn't answer.

_Damn!_

_Where is she?_

I stood in front of the door, looking like a retard. I stood there for a few minutes until I heard somebody's voice.

"Kara?"

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw Aaron walking toward me.

"Uh, hi," I said, once he stopped in front of me.

"Hey…" He looked at the door, and then back at me. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Kinda," I sighed. "I left my key in the room and Katelyn is not here…"

"Katelyn's your roommate?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Well…You can wait in my room until she comes…" He dug his hands in his pockets. "If you want…" His gentle green eyes stared into mine.

"Um, sure," I said, trying not to sound excited. I was really thrilled, but I didn't want Aaron to know that. He might think I'm weird. And this could be a great opportunity for me to get to know him.

_But wait! _

_What about his roommate?_

"Okay," he said. Then he started to walk pass me and I followed.

When we got to his room, Aaron opened the door. "You can just sit anywhere…except for that bed," he said, pointing to the bed by the window. "That's my roommate's bed." Aaron took off his black jacket and threw it on his bed.

"Okay," I nodded. I sat on the couch that was placed in front of the TV. "Where's your roommate?"

Aaron came and sat next to me. "He's somewhere…Probably eating…"

"Oh," I nodded.

_Good._

_I can definitely get to know him now…_

We spent the whole night watching movies. We laughed, played. We had fun. And I did get to know him.

Now I'm really ecstatic.

I couldn't have asked for a better night.


	5. Chapter 4

Eighth Day

"I think she's waking up," I heard somebody say.

I slowly opened my eyes. It took a minute for my sight to become clear. When it did, I saw a guy staring down at me. He looked amused as he grinned at me. "Who are you?" I uttered. My voice was a little groggy.

"Eric," he replied. "I'm Aaron's roommate."

I slowly sat up and found myself sitting on the couch with a light blue blanket on me. I must have fallen asleep here. I looked around for Aaron and saw that he was standing on the other side of the couch. He stared down at me. His eyes focused on mine.

"You talk a lot in your sleep," Eric said.

"Huh?" I broke the intense eye contact with Aaron and looked at Eric.

"You say stuff like–" Aaron suddenly slapped Eric across the chest, stopping Eric from talking. "What?" Eris asked confused on why Aaron had hit him.

I glanced at Aaron and our eyes met. "What? What did I say…?" The memory of the day I fell asleep on the bench came into mind. Aaron didn't even tell me what I said then either.

"Is it similar to the day I fell asleep on the bench?"

Eric's eyes focused on mine and Aaron slowly nodded.

One of Eric's eyebrows rose as he said, "This is the second time you've said that?" Then he turned to Aaron. "Do you think…" his voice trailed off.

_What is Eric talking about?_

_And what are they not telling me...?_

"Kara, I'll walk you back to your room," Aaron said.

"What? What about…," my voice trailed off. I couldn't finish. It was no use in trying to get them to tell me. "Fine," I said, giving up. I threw the blanket off me and followed Aaron to my room.

When we got to my room, there was only one question I had to ask him. One simple, easy-to-answer question.

"When are you going to tell me?"

Aaron let out a short sigh. "When the time is right," he simply answered.

I sighed as I knocked on my door. Katelyn came to the door seconds later. "Ugh…"she complained. Her hair was tied up and her eyes were half closed.

This was a new side of her, I thought.

"Sorry…" I said.

"Ugh…" She turned and started to walk toward her bed. I caught the door with my hand before it slammed shut. I took on final look at Aaron and then closed the door.

'When the time is right' Aaron's voice echoed in my head. 'When the time is right…'

Later that day, Katelyn and her buddies went back to the beach. I didn't feel like going to the beach so I stayed in the room and watched TV. I heard a knock coming from my door. I turned the TV volume down and went to check it. Jason stood in the hallway. His hands were tucked into his pocket, as he stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you ready?"

"What do you m–" Before I could finish, Jason grabbed my wrist.

"Wait!" I said before he started pulling me out of the room. "Let me get my key."

He let go of my wrist and waited in the hallway as I got my key. It sat on the bedside table between the beds. I grabbed it and walked out the room.

"Ready now?" Jason grinned.

"Depends…Where are we going?"

His grin just got bigger as he took my hand and led me out the hotel. He led me to an isolated area along the beach.

"Why d'you bring me here?" I asked.

Jason smiled and pointed towards the ocean. In the distance I could see a big boat approaching us.

"A boat…?" I asked, confused.

Jason chuckled. "A yacht."

"A yacht?" I repeated.

_What?_

Jason's smile became bigger as he nodded. "Yep…" He looked at the ship then back at me. "Do you like yacht's?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Wouldn't know…I've never been on one."

His gentle blue eyes stared into mine. "Trust me, you'll love it."

When we boarded the yacht a man dressed in a butler suit approached us. He held a tray with two glasses of champagne on it. Jason took the champagne from the man and the man walked away.

I gazed out over the ocean. The view was simply beautiful. The blue water glimmering as the sun shined down on it. I went to the edge of the boat and looked down. We were so far from the water. I couldn't help but stare at the open ocean…

"Do you drink?" Jason asked, snapping me out of my trance.

I looked down at the wine he was holding. The small bubbles never moved from their spot. I watched as the wine sparkled in the sun.

"No…I don't," I said, shaking my head.

Jason raised one of his eyebrows. "Never…"

"Nope, never," I told him.

"Hmmm…Any particular reason why you don't drink wine?"

"Not really…Beside the fact that I'm underage." I said, looking out over the ocean again.

A thin grin appeared on his face. "Do you want to try it?" He held out the glass of the champagne to me.

I was always curious about the taste of wine. The look of it seemed classy but the taste…

_But what if I get drunk and say something that no one is supposed to know about…?_

_That would ruin everything!_

_And I can't truly trust Jason yet…_

_I'm not even supposed to be here with him right now!_

_I'm not even supposed to get close to anybody!_

"No, thanks," I kindly rejected. "I think I'll stick with being sober."

Jason let out a laugh as he put the glass of champagne to his lips. He took a sip and said, "Maybe next time."

_Maybe…_

Jason motioned for one of the guys in a butler suit to come here. When one of them arrived, Jason put the glass of champagne that was supposed to be mine on the tray. Then the man walked away.

"So am I right?" Jason asked.

"Huh?"

Jason came to the railing beside me and said, "About you liking it. Remember…I said you'll love it."

"Oh," I said, remembering what he said. "Yes, you were right," I giggled.

He chuckled then took a sip of champagne. "Well, if you like this then you're gonna love the next part."

_Next part?_

He grabbed my hand and started to lead me somewhere.

"Why are you grabbing me by my hand?" I said, looking down at our hands.

"What?" He turned to me but kept walking.

"Yesterday you grabbed me by my wrist."

"And you said you didn't like being held by the wrist."

I could see his cheeks getting red as he took his hand out of mine. I couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.

He led me down a stairway into a short, narrow passageway. It was dark but not that dark to where I couldn't see anything. The lights from the floor gave the passageway a little light. When Jason turned the lights fully on I looked around. Glass covered both sides of the passageway and I could see fishes swim by. The life under the beautiful blue ocean.

Gorgeous, I thought.

"So…what do you think?" Jason asked.

I opened my mouth to say something but then remembered yesterday. How Jason took me to the mall strip…Even dinner.

"Is this your way of making a move on me?" I joked.

Jason chuckled as he put his face inches away from my ear. "Maybe."

"So are there any other places on the yacht you wish to show me?" I said, changing the subject.

He nodded. "Yep…C'mon," he said turning the lights off and grabbing my hand again.

This time, Jason led me to the second level of the yacht. He took me into a dark room and let my hand go. Then he turned on the lights. Very dim lights.

A beige sectional couch sat in front of a big flat screen TV. The hardwood floor made the room feel more home-like. Paintings hung all around the room making a great addition to it.

"This is my mobile living room," Jason told me.

"Your mobile living room?" I said emphasizing _your._

"Yeah," he nodded.

I took a couple of step into the room and said, "You didn't just…rent it?"

"Nope. The whole yacht was custom made."

I looked at the room in amazement. All of this was custom made?

"You seem so shocked…"Jason said.

"What do you mean?" I said turning to Jason.

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but didn't.

"Nothing…" he quickly said.

"No, what. Tell me," I said. I was trying to look into his eyes, but he kept looking away.

"It's just…You don't own a yacht?"

I shook my head. "No."

"…A private jet?"

I shook my head again. "No…Do you?"

He slowly nodded his head. He walked up to me and looked me in the eyes. His blue eyes seemed very gentle. "Are you even…rich?"

"Sort of…" I said, staring at the floor. My dad might be poor but my mom isn't. She's filthy rich…Her and her husband. But I have never asked for money from her. Not after the way she treated me.

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"I really don't think that's any of your business!" I blurted out.

His eyes scanned my face. "Yeah…you're right…sorry."

I took the wine glass out of Jason's hand and took a sip of the champagne. A sweet taste filled my mouth. I wanted the sudden anger that I had just acquired to go away. I didn't even know why I was angry…I guess I just didn't want to think about my mother…

And what she did.

"I thought you didn't drink?" Jason asked.

I lowered the wine glass and saw a glimpse of concern in Jason's eyes. His gentle eyes had saddened. But I ignored them and put the glass up to my lips. I tilted the glass a little and felt the champagne tickle my throat…

Then all of a sudden I felt the wine glass move away from my lips. I felt it slip out of my hands.

Jason had taken the champagne away from me. "I don't think you should drink anymore," he said.

I looked at the wine glass and saw that it was empty.

_Did I really drink that much?_

_It didn't seem like that much…_

_Plus Jason had drunk some too…_

"Why?" I snapped.

"Because you're just doing it out of anger," Jason shot back.

Jason stared into my eyes and I stared into his. The eye contact was intense. We stared into each other's eyes for a minute or two until Jason looked away.

A second later his eyes returned back to my face. "Look, I'm sorry that I upset you. I won't ask you anymore questions…Let's just get back to having fun, okay?" The concern in his eyes melted away as a smile appeared on his face.

I nodded. "Okay."

After our little argument, Jason showed me more of his magnificent yacht. And as the sun started to set on the horizon, we went to the highest level of the boat and watched as the night spread through the sky. The stars shined brightly in the sky. And so did the moon. The wind blew lightly, blowing our hair in our faces.

A beautiful sight…for a beautiful night.

Ninth Day

_Damn!_

_My head…_

_It's hurting so much._

_Ugh, what a headache…_

"So do you?" Emma said.

"Huh?" I didn't even notice her. She was standing in the hallway, wide-eyed, and Aaron was standing next to her.

"Do you want to come with us?"

"Where are you going…?" I asked, confused.

"Argh! It's like you weren't even paying attention at all. What is going on in that head of yours," she said, pressing her finger against my head. "Just c'mon." She started to reach for my arm, but then stopped. She hesitated to move any further.

"Okay," I sighed, wincing at the pain of the headache.

She started to clap and jump around. "Yaaay!"

I followed behind Emma and Aaron along the beach. I watched as people played in the water and as kids made sandcastles. Their smiles brought a smile to my face.

"Oooof!" I had bumped into Emma. I didn't even notice that she had stopped. Aaron had stopped too. They appeared to be looking at something. I followed their gaze and found out that they were looking at Jason. He was holding a volleyball in his hands, standing next to the volleyball net. His shirt was also off which meant that I could see his six-pack.

"Volleyball?"

"Yep," Emma nodded, as she and Aaron walked to one side of the volleyball court. "Me and Aaron are on teams and you and Jason are on teams," Emma grinned.

_Me and Jason?_

"A fair fight," Emma said.

Thank goodness I wore shorts instead of a skirt today, I thought.

I walked over to where Jason was. "Feeling okay?" Jason whispered.

I nodded. "I have to talk to you though…"

"About what?" Jason asked.

"Later," I told him. I had to talk to him about last night. I got so drunk off of the champagne that I don't even know what I did last night.

"Okay…" He walked back behind the line and spiked the ball.

_Let the game begin._

I usually don't play sports, but today I had to. I was forced to. So I did the best I could to hit the ball over the net. Considering that I had a headache, I think I did a good job–

Suddenly a shiny, bright thing caught my eye and I turned my attention towards it–

"Watch out!" Jason yelled, returning my attention back to the game.

Jason's arm wrapped around my waist as he raised his other arm to stop the ball. The ball landed perfectly in the palm of his hands. My cheek lied on Jason's chest and I could fell his heartbeat quicken. Heat quickly rushed to my cheeks as my heart pounded rapidly against my chest.

"Uh…" Jason's hand moved away from my waist and he took a small step away from me.

"Sorry Kara," Aaron yelled.

"It's okay," I yelled back. I looked at Jason and he was staring at me. His cheeks were really red.

"Pay attention," he said softly, averting his eyes. The tone of his voice was gentle like he was telling me to be careful. "I don't want to have to take you to the hospital…" he mumbled. He said it so low that I barely heard him. Then he walked behind the line and spiked the ball again.

Later that day, after we finished playing volleyball and after Jason put on a shirt, Jason took me to a restaurant for lunch. Emma and Aaron couldn't come because Emma wanted to try a different restaurant.

"So I guess this makes me your savior," Jason said. Jason and I had already ordered our meals and were waiting patiently upon its arrival.

"Huh?"

"You know. The time you got hit with the soccer ball. And I took you to the nurse's office…" he grinned.

"Um, you were the one who kicked the ball, if I do recall."

Jason's cheeks started to get red as he looked away. When his eyes returned to my face he said, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Last night…" I replied.

"What about it?"

"Well…I don't remember it. All I remember is watching the sunset…"

Jason let out a laugh. "Well, after we did watch the sun set, you passed out."

"Really…?"

He nodded. Then a huge grin appeared on his face. "You snore in your sleep."

"What, I don't snore," I pouted. Then the memory of Aaron and Eric flashed in my mind. When they told me that I talk in my sleep. "I didn't talk in my sleep?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope, just snored…Why?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing." I told him.

"I wonder what kind of secrets you tell when your asleep," Jason teased.

_Hopefully none…_

So after we ate, Jason took me back to my room and I spent the rest of the day in there. For the last couple of days we had on the beach, I stayed in my room. I watched as Katelyn left the room with her posse and come back with a bunch of shopping bags in her hands.

When it was time to leave everybody packed up the bus. It took us about a day to get back to Vanmond High. I was so happy when we arrived.

* * *

**Hey guys! Tell me what you think of the story so far. I really want to know what people have to say about it so leave a comment!**

**And for the people actually reading my story...the next chapter is going to be really shocking(in my opinion) :)**


	6. Chapter 5

Fourteenth Day

_ Beep! Beep! Beep!_ my alarm clock blared.

"Ugh. Turn that off," Emma groaned. I turned my body in my bed so that I could see my alarm clock. I reached for it. The clock felt cold under my fingers. I flipped the alarm switch off and threw the covers off me.

"Wake up, Emma," I said getting up from my bed. In the dark I could see her outline figure shift in her bed. "C'mon," I said a little louder.

"Noooo. I wanna go back to sleep…"

I sighed as I flung a pillow at her. She shifted in her bed again. I walked up to her bead and snatched the covers off her. Then I proceeded into the bathroom and began brushing my teeth. Emma came into the bathroom minutes later, rubbing her eyes. "You didn't have to wake me up like that," Emma complained.

"It was the only way you would wake up." After we brushed our teeth, I changed my clothes in the bathroom and Emma changed in our room. Then we started to walk to class. As we walked through the hallway, I heard girls giggle about what Katelyn had.

"Oh my gosh!" Did you see that bag Katelyn had? It was sooo pretty."

"I know. She had such good taste!"

"I know" They giggled.

Emma let out an exaggerated sigh. "All those girls talk about are money, clothes and Katelyn. They act like Katelyn is the only girl here who has good taste…Argh! It just gets me frustrated…"

"Yeah…" I said half-heartedly. I didn't really care about Katelyn or what other people had to say about her. So I quietly walked to class as Emma fumed about Katelyn. When we got to class Katelyn was surrounded by girls. They were all giggling.

"Ugh. See what I mean?" Emma walked to her seat and threw her books on the table.

"What do you have against her?" I asked her. Emma seems too angry about Katelyn and how she creates attention for herself. Emma's head quickly turned to me. The corner of her mouth twitched. "What do you mean?"

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No. We're from two different worlds. Why would something happen between us?" she said quickly.

"Whatever," I said, dropping the subject.

"Hmph!" Emma crossed her arms and sat in her seat. I walked to my desk and saw a light pink envelope. It seemed light in my hand. I sat down at my desk and opened it. The paper inside read:

Missing Something?

_What? What is this? Missing something? What could I possibly be missing?_

I looked around the room. Nobody was looking at me. Most of the other girls were hearing Katelyn brag about her stuff. And most of the boys were on the other side of the room, goofing off. I turned the paper around to see if anything else was written on it. And there it was. It read:

Meet Me In Katelyn's Room After Class.

"Hmmm…"

Katelyn's room?

Why her room?

I did as the note said and went to Katelyn's room after class. I lied to Emma on where I was going. I told her that I was going to take a walk. Surprisingly, she didn't ask any questions and proceeded to go to our dorm room.

I knocked on Katelyn's door. Seconds later the door opened and Katelyn's grinning face appeared.

"Come in." She gestured toward the inside of her room. I walked inside and the scent of cherry blossom perfume roamed the room. The strong scent filled my nose and I let out a cough.

"Did you put this letter on my desk?" I asked as soon as she closed the door. I also held the pink envelope in my hand.

A grin still sat on Katelyn's face. "What do you think you're missing?" she said.

"Huh...? What do you mean?

"I see you haven't noticed. Have you even unpacked your stuff yet?" She said, moving closer. She let out a laugh. A laugh that made me cringe. "The confuse look on your face tells me that you haven't"

She was right. I haven't unpacked yet. I was going to wait until class ended today to wash my clothes that I took on the trip.

Katelyn went to her bedside table and opened it. She took out some papers and held them up. The first paper I saw was a photograph…of Aarons face. His black hair. His green eyes. That picture was the same one my father had given me.

"Where did you get that?" I asked calmly.

Katelyn shrugged. "I found it on the floor in our hotel room."

Liar. That couldn't have been on the floor. It was in my suitcase. I made sure of that. "You didn't find that on the floor. You found that in m–" I stopped myself from saying anymore. I didn't want to risk anything. Maybe she doesn't know why I had it. Maybe she'll think I have a huge crush on Aaron and she'll give me the papers back.

"I found it where?" she grinned.

I stared at Katelyn for a moment then forced a smile on my face. "Well you found my papers…Thank you. I think I'll just take them and leave." I reached for the papers but Katelyn pulled them back.

"Oh you think so huh? Well I don't think so." She slowly shook head.

I sighed.

This is not good. Katelyn sat down on her bed. When I first saw these, I thought 'why would she have these? Maybe she likes him.'" She let out another sickening laugh. "But before I jump to conclusions, I thought I would do a little research to see who you really are. So I did." She looked at the picture of Aaron and said, 'And I found something very interesting." She turned her attention back to me. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"If you did some research then you would know now wouldn't you?"

The smile on her face disappeared nut shortly came back. "I suggest you be a little nicer to me."

"Or what?"

"I have my ways you know. I can make everybody turn against you." She grinned.

"So what? I don't need people to like me," I said, not giving in.

"Oh, but what about your brother think?" she pouted. "He'll never want you near him…"

I had nothing to say. I couldn't say anything. All I could think about was Aaron. If I told him that Katelyn was lying would he believe me? And what about Jason? Would he believe me?

"Oh what, no smart comebacks?"

"Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"Oh I hate that word. Let's not use it again, okay?"

I sighed. "What do you want from me?" Only a few days of this. Then I could tell Aaron the truth. Tell him that I'm his sister.

"Just the words I wanted to hear," she grinned.

After mine and Katelyn's talk, I started to walk to my room. I had a lot to think about. About what Katelyn said. About her conditions–"

"Hey Kara," somebody called from behind. I turned around and saw Jason running toward me. "Where are you going?" He said once he stopped.

"My room."

"Oh…Then come with me," he said grabbing my arm. But before he started to pull me I yanked my arm away.

"I don't want to," I said quickly and kept walking to my room.

"What?" He stopped in front of me keeping me from walking.

"Why do you always want me to go somewhere with you for your own selfish reasons?" I said harshly.

"Selfish reasons…?" he repeated.

"Just so you can see if I'm like the other here…" I paused. The words that I was saying were hurting me. I almost couldn't go on. But I had to…

For my brother.

"Just leave me alone. I don't need your approval," I told him.

Jason's mouth hung open as he stared at me. His eyes were wide open in denial. Denying what I had just said to him. He stood still as I walked passed him and continued to my room. I walked the halls, wanting to take back what I had said to Jason. But I couldn't…And it wasn't over…I still had one more thing to do.

Sorry Emma.

"Hey Kara," Emma said when I walked in. She was lying on her bed reading a book. I threw my messenger bag on my bed and took some clothes into the bathroom. I changed into my regular clothes then walked back out into the room. "So how was your walk?" Emma asked.

"Good," I replied, sitting down on my bed.

"Was something on your mind?" She sat up on her bed and put her book down.

"It's none of your business," I told her. Emma didn't reply. I looked up at her. She was staring at me.

"Um…Sorry…" she looked away and I started to do my homework.

This will all end soon, I kept telling myself.

Fifteenth Day

"Come sit with us," Katelyn said. The lunch bell had already rung, signaling to go to lunch. Emma was about to pull a chair up to my desk when Katelyn came over.

"Sure," I said.

"What?" Emma said. "You're not going to stay in here?"

I shook my head as I stood up from my desk.

"But…But," Emma stammered. "You always stay in here…"

"Not today," I said harshly.

Emma stared at me wide-eyed. Her eyes shifted from me to Katelyn and then back to me again.

I'm sorry, I wanted to say.

I had to do it.

"Well let's go," Katelyn grinned. Emma watched as I left the room with Katelyn and her posse.

When we got to the cafeteria we got our lunch and sat down at Katelyn's table.

"Good job," Katelyn smirked once we sat down. "You're such a good actor." Katelyn took a bit of food and so did her posse.

"Why aren't you eating?" one of the girls asked.

"I don't want to," I shrugged.

"Well the food here is really good. Since we're in a private school, we get the best food. You should try it," the girl continues.

"A few more days of this then you can get your stuff back," Katelyn told me.

I sighed, wanting this day to be over.

When class was over I walked back to my dorm room alone. Emma said she had to go somewhere so she didn't walk back with me. When I got into my room I laid down in my bed, remembering yesterday, the day I got blackmailed.

"What do you want from me?"

"Just the words I wanted to hear," Katelyn grinned. "All I want is for you to hang out with me. And that means no talking to Emma and absolutely NO talking to Jason…"

"Why? Why are you so mean towards her?" I asked. "What do you have against her?"

"Don't act like you care about her," Katelyn laughed. "You're only here for your brother. So wouldn't it be better not to lead them on."

It was quiet for moment as we stared at each other. Then I remembered that she mentioned Jason. "What about Jason?" I asked.

"What about him?"

"You said that I couldn't talk to him…Why is that?"

She said nothing as she continued to stare to me.

"You like him, don't you?" I blurted out.

"I don't think that's any of your business–"

"And I don't think why I'm here is any of your business," I shot back.

A grin spread across her face. "Just leave him alone."

She likes Jason…Why else would she say that.

"You know he doesn't like you right?" I asked.

"Shut up!" she yelled. I couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

"Why are you smiling? You can't seriously think that he likes you, can you? Him being a rich, handsome boy and you being a poor, outcast girl. As if."

"At least he talks to me."

The corner of her mouth twitched. The hate in her eyes became intense. Then it all disappeared and she smiled.

I think you're forgetting something." She waved the papers in my face. "Always remember what I can do to you…And stay away from Jason."

We stared at each other until Katelyn said, "You can leave now…Bye."

I sighed as I left her room and started toward mine.

Sixteenth Day

I woke up early. Earlier than I normally do. I don't know why…but I did. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and put on my uniform.

The class was empty except for a few people. I looked around the room and saw Jason sitting by the window. He stared at me as I made my way to my seat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him stand up and walk toward me.

"What's with you?"

I looked up and saw Jason standing in front of my desk.

"I heard about what you did to Emma. I heard her tell Aaron what happened. Since when did you start hanging out with Katelyn?"

_She told Aaron. _

_Oh NO! _

_That's bad. _

_What if he doesn't want to talk to me anymore?_

_This is not how it is suppose to go–_

"Kara." Jason said interrupting my thoughts. He looked me in the eyes and I looked in his. "What's in the eyes and I looked in his. "What's going on? What happened?"

I looked away from his eyes. I couldn't stand to look into eyes. They were so gentle. So caring.

"Nothing" I quickly said.

"Something happened," he muttered. "You wouldn't just do something like that –"

"You don't know what I would do!" I yelled out. I stood up from my desk and started to walk for the door but Jason stood in my way. I could feel eyes watching us. Watching me…

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered to me.

Ignoring his Jason's question, I pushed him out the way and ran out the room. I ran to the nearest bathroom and dropped to the floor. I tried to stop the tears but they ran down my face anyway. The second day of blackmail and I can't even handle it. Why is this so hard? I thought that I just dissed Emma and Jason that they would leave me alone. But… It's so much harder than that…

I stayed in the bathroom until the lunch bell rung. I stood and started for the door. Before I opened it, the door busted open. A sharp pain came from my forehead as I got knocked to the ground. My hand instantly went to my forehead as I opened my eyes.

Katelyn was kneeling down beside me. She stared down at me with a crooked grin. "That's what you get bitch. I should've opened the door harder."

"What are you talking about?" I mumbled. I started to get up but Katelyn grabbed me by the neck and pinned me down. Pain surged through my head as my head crushed against the floor again.

"What did you say to Jason?" Katelyn growled. The look in her eyes became furious.

"Nothing," I said, wincing at the pain.

Her grip on my neck tightened. "Let me ask you this again. What…did…you say…to Jason."

I gasped for air as my hands rose to my neck. I tried to pull her hands away from my neck, but they wouldn't budge. Her grip was to tight.

"Nuh…thing," I gasped.

Her grip started to loosen, nut not enough so that I could pull her hands away. "Just now Jason and I had a talk…He told me to stay away from you and to not talk to you. I wonder why he said that."

I thought about it. Why _did_ he say that?...Then suddenly I heard his voice echo in my head. 'I heard about what you did to Emma.'

"ANSWER ME!"

"Maybe because you made a mistake…"

"What?"

"I was seen with you…I've always stayed in the classroom with Emma but…yesterday I ate lunch with you…That's something I would have never done. So in the end, it was your fault. I told you he doesn't like you," I grinned. I knew it wasn't the best time to smile, but I did it anyway. Just to make her mad.

Bad idea.

I felt her nails dig into my neck as her grip tightened again. "SHUT…UP!" she yelled.

Without thinking I started to claw at her hands. But she never pulled back.

I felt my head lift up from the floor and smash back into it again. I gasped in pain. I reached up for her hair but she slapped it away.

"Ugh…" I'm so weak right now. And the pain was…unbearable.

I reached for her hair again. This time quicker. As soon as I felt her come into my hand I yanked it.

"Oww," she cried out. I felt her fingers unwrap from around my neck. I quickly pushed her off of me and sat up.

I felt the room shift from left to right. I struggled to stand, wobbling and holding the walls for support.

The room was almost back to normal when I felt a hard shove come from my back. I ran into the restroom door and fell onto the hallway floor, unable to keep my balance.

I started to stand again, stumbling side to side so that I wouldn't fall back down. The pain coming from my head became worse. And me being dizzy didn't help. I grabbed onto the ledge and saw Katelyn coming out of the bathroom. She started to walk slowly toward me. With that crooked grin still on her face.

"What's going on!" a voice yelled. Katelyn and I turned in the direction of the voice. And there he stood.

Jason.

I turned back toward Katelyn. The blood had drain out of her face, making her skin look white. Like she had been scared to death–

Suddenly my legs gave way. I fell but I didn't land on the floor. I landed in Jason's arms.

He caught me.

"Are you okay?"

"No," I managed to say.

His eyes shifted from me to Katelyn, confused. "What happened?" he asked.

My eyes started to close. All of my energy had left me. I couldn't do anything right now. Not even move my hand. Plus I had pain surging through my neck and skull.

Everything started fading to black in my mind. I started to drift away, knowing that I'd be safe in his arms. But before I collapsed, I felt my body being picked up bridal style and air brushing against my face–

I wonder what's happening…?


End file.
